Obama in Paris: How to win friends and influence people …
Le Journal duDimanche au Quotidien, France
Sarkozy and the Press Respond to 'the Call of
Obama'...
"Good luck to Barack
Obama. If he is chosen, then France will be delighted. And if it is somebody
else, then France will be the friend of the United States of America," he finally concluded; with a
formulation which again - says a lot about his preference."
Barack Obama continues his tour of European capitals.
Arriving from Germany early this afternoon, the Democratic
candidate for the American presidency spent only a few hours in Paris. Before leaving for London, the Senator from Illinois was received by Nicolas Sarkozy
at the ElyséePalace; It was an opportunity for both men to
express their "convergence" on the climate and on a nuclear Iran.
There was a large crowd in the ElyséePalace ballroom this Friday. Dozens of journalists
representing all the media in Paris, including newspapers, radio stations and
television channels - to say nothing of their many American colleagues - have
responded to the "call of Obama." Outside the Palace, a number of
supporters - both French and American and mostly people of color - gathered
behind the security barriers to catch a glimpse of the democratic senator.
Arriving at 1700 hours [5pm] at rue duFaubourg St. Honoré, he left an hour and a half later accompanied by
a smiling Nicolas Sarkozy, who didn't hesitate in
front of photographers to give a "kiss on the cheek" to his
"friend" from America.
Obama backers cheer
outside the ElyséePalace, Saturday.
Perfectly orchestrated, BarackObama’s visit in the French capital, the penultimate
stop of his world tour - before London on Saturday - didn’t exceed five hours.
Officially, this was due to scheduling reasons: "It's unusual for a
presidential campaign to be out of the country for more than a week. And so I
think we've just had to abbreviate these last meetings," pleaded the mixed-race senator at the press conference, which
was conducted jointly with Nicolas Sarkozy. And to
the slightly chauvinistic frustration of seeing him
deliver his big speech the day before in Berlinand not Paris, the Democrat extiricated
himself by saying: "the truth is that the speech that I gave in Germany
was hopefully speaking to a broad European audience." Which of course includes France. For if only strategically, drawing too close
to Paris could cost him precious support from the
center of the electorate in November. But on Friday standing behind his
lectern, Obama had only sweet words for the Hexagone
[France is often referred to as a six-sided Hexagon due to the geometric
shape of its territory].
'GOOD
LUCK BARACK OBAMA'
"I think the average American has
enormous fondness for the French people"
he declared, in order to dispel the anti-French sentiment that resulted from
France's no to war in Iraq in 2003.
"People in France and people throughout Europe should not
underestimate how much interest there is in America in seeing the transatlantic
relationship improving," he added.
"Franceis pleased to welcome Barack Obama, first of
all because he is American," said Nicolas Sarkozy
at the beginning of the press conference. Obviously however, this doesn't
appear to be the only reason. The French President, who met John McCain in a
far more discreet atmosphere last March, found it difficult to hide his
political proximity to the Democratic senator.
On the merits, the two men, who had met for
an hour before addressing the media, found each other to be on the same
wavelength on a number of issues - from the continuation of the war effort
against the Taliban in Afghanistan to the necessity to halting Iran's nuclear
ambitions through the fierce battle against global warming. The French
President and the American candidate stressed their "convergence." On
the form, the findings are the same. On several occasions, Barack
Obama praised the "energy" of the tenant of the Elysée
Palace and said he saw the verdict of French voters in the spring of 2007 as a
"meritocratic" result worthy of the
"American dream."
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
RED STATE
UPDATE ELECTION FUN: 'FOREIGNERS LOVE OBAMA'
By his side, Nicolas Sarkozy
noted the similarities between his personal "adventure" and that of
his guest of the day, who he met - along with John McCain - in Washingtonin 2006. He pointed out their foreign
origins - at least in part - from their respective countries. "One
is interested in a candidate who's looking toward the future rather than the
past" said the French President,
in reference to the way he campaigned last year. "Good luck to Barack Obama. If he is chosen, then France will be
delighted. And if it is somebody else, then France will be the friend of the
United States of America," he
finally concluded; with a formulation which again - says a lot about his
preference" …
